Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one
Being “earthly” in Scripture always sounded so gross and slimy to me. I always have to read Paul's words with a grain of compassionate sodium chloride, though. The reality is that we are human - from the earth, the dirt, the atoms (read Adams).
So I choose to read this Pauline teaching not in a 'bad news, good news' sorta way, but a “very good news, awesome news” way. God made humankind not just good but very good, right? So it is very good that we are earthly indeed!
But, even still, it is awesome, if not even miraculous, that we also belong to a heavenly realm. That for us, as human as we are, being divine is not out of the question! Our God wants to be so so close to us all that the wonders of heaven are open to us. This truth is something I admit doesn’t cross my mind when picking the perfectly ripe avocado from Kroger. I don't always see my identity as “heavenly” as the wondrous mystery it sure is.
So, considering these ramblings of mine, is there a point to why I have been so struck by Paul offering the comparison of humanity (in Adam and his beloved Eve) and divinity (in Jesus Christ)? What's the nugget I'm choosing to pick out of this Saturday's readings?
That we are divine, too!
I almost solely see myself as a human who makes countless mistakes, who chooses selfish wants, and who doesn't seem to be ever worthy of any particular awards or acolades. However, our earthly without the heavenly is incomplete. Our humanness is not our total sum. The awful things we do are not the final say.
We are divine, too!
It’s nothing to hold up to or against another - as they are divine, too! We, they, those, the “other” - all as earthly and as heavenly as the last. Sure, we all have the inclination to tightly grip to our human wants and desires. But the true journey we all walk together on is towards the heavenly - towards God.
And this may or may not give you any sense of peace, yet believe it in your heart of hearts:
You are divine, too.
-Joe Oliveri